


Fixing Your Errors

by SansyFresh



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Body Horror, Error is a poor baby, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, No Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-07-25 22:34:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7549879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SansyFresh/pseuds/SansyFresh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Error is chilling in the Anti-Void when his entire worlds gets flipped upside down by his best-frenimie, Ink. Ink, with help from Fresh, are determined to teach Error a lesson for destroying so many universes. So what do they do? They trap him in Underswap, of course!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. HELP

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely based on the ask-comic by Crayon Queen, or lover-of-piggies on Tumblr. This takes place a bit after Error has already returned Blueberry to his home.

Error sighed as he heard a portal open behind him, trying to finish the sculpture he was working on with his strings in order to escape his boredom. Whoever it was could just bug off. So, he concentrated, blocking out the sounds of footsteps behind him, putting all of his concentration into weaving the strings into just the right shapes. Finally he was done, and he sat on the ground and relaxed, completely spacing on the fact that there was someone in the Anti-Void with him. Staring at his creation, a sculpture of what a wolf might look like on the surface, Error sighed contentedly.

“Woah, homey, I didn’t know you could be so un-tight.” Error went blind for a second in his panic, hearing his strings react on their own, tying up whoever had spoken. When he could finally see, he found FreshSans staring down at him in anger, trying to wriggle his way out of the web of strings he was currently trapped in.

“What the hell, yo! I thought we agreed you weren’t gonna try an’ dust me!” Fresh yelled, his eye sockets flashing in anger behind his sunglasses. Error watched him for a moment, the chuckled.

“HeH, sOrrY ‘BOuT tHat. ALthOuGh, iF yoU dON’t wANt mE tO aTTaCK yOU, mAYbE DOn’T SUprISe mE.” Error chuckled at the frustrated look on Fresh’s face, before loosening the strings and letting him go. Fresh glared at him for a moment more, then grinned widely, as usual.

“It’s all good, my broseph. Actually, I more than likely would have done the same un-fresh thing…” Fresh smiled, shrugging his shoulders. “Actually, I came because of Ink. He wants to talk to you about something.” Error tilted his head, a tiny bit confused.

“WHy DIdn’T hE cOMe hERe THeN?” Error did not like the prospect of leaving the Anti-Void unless it was to destroy another dirty universe. He also didn’t like the look of pure mischief that crossed Fresh’s features when he asked.

“Oh, he did. I was just the distraction, homey.” Error gasped as he felt something grab him from behind, his haphephobia kicking in and making him scream and struggle. Error soon couldn’t see from the static covering his eyes, but continued screaming and kicking and fighting to get away from whoever was holding onto him. He vaguely felt his strings wrap around Fresh and subdue him, but was completely distracted when he felt something much like a leather collar being fastened around his throat. Gasping, his vision returned but went blurry as he went to his knees, clawing at whatever was around his neck.  
“Stop that, Error. It’s not coming off unless I let it.” Error’s head snapped up as he heard the voice of his longtime nemesis (and friend), Ink. Ink was grinning down at him, and so was Fresh, who was still dangling in the strings. Making sure Error was watching, Ink snapped his fingers and the blue strings turned into a myriad of colors before dissipating. Error couldn’t help shaking in fear; his magic was now under complete control of Ink. Now Ink and Fresh were standing over him, grinning.

“Are you going to kill me?” Error’s hand went up to his mouth. He no longer sounded glitched. In fact, as he looked at himself, his body was no longer covered in glitches. It was back to what it was before, still black boned with blue, red and gold accents, but no more errors. Looking up when Ink laughed at his reaction, Error saw that Fresh was just as amused.

“No, silly. We aren’t going to kill you. Freshy and I decided that you went on too much of a universe-destroying splurge recently, and that you needed to be punished for it.” Error shook harder. He had given them both a hard time ever since he met them, it wasn’t hard to see that they wanted revenge. What would they do to him? What were they capable of doing? Error had no way to protect himself now.

“Wondering about your magic? Well, you can thank Freshy for that idea. Your collar saps all of your magic, except what you use to survive and live, and links it directly to one of our bracelets.” Ink and Fresh both held up an arm, where identical leather bangles could be found. Not only did Ink have control over his magic, but Fresh did as well. Error was nearly in tears with his fear. He was in a ball, hugging his knees to himself. He had never felt this powerless since he lost… Error looked back up at Ink, glaring.

“Well? Get it over with then!” he yelled. Fresh laughed at that, giving Ink a finger gun before opening a portal and hopping through it. Error shook even harder at that. What in the world was going on!

“Sorry, Error, this isn’t going to be like the times you tortured us. This time, we are the two in control. And we aren’t going to give that control up any time soon.” Ink looked down right maniacal, suddenly picking Error up by the back of his hood. Waving his hand he opened a portal, Error could see that it went to the Universe Underswap. Error shook even harder now, remembering his fight with Papyrus, how he had taken Blueberry, then he had returned him later, barely escaping Papyrus’ wrath.

“N-no p-please, you c-can’t be serious, Ink!” Error’s bones were rattling. He tried to imagine facing them after losing most of his magic. Ink laughed.

“Serious as the grave. Remember, Error, I’ll be watching.” Then threw Error in.


	2. PLEASE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry...

Error woke to find himself in the bitter cold of Snowdin. Sitting up, he shivered, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. He remembered what had happened before Ink had seemingly went insane and thrown him into his least favorite universe (okay, maybe that particular award needed to go to SwapFell). Shaking in both cold and fear, Error stood up, trying to get a bearing on where he was. He could barely make out Papyrus’ station from here, and the thought of coming in contact with the lazy but deadly skeleton made him start hyperventilating. He sat back down hard, curling into a ball. He couldn’t think, and he couldn’t see. Apparently whatever the collar did, it didn’t get rid of the annoying, blinding static he got when he became overly stressed. In his moment of weakness, he didn’t hear four skeletons walking up the road, all laughing and talking to each other. Had he been able to see, he would have been surprised. The Papyrus and Sans from Underfell were walking with Swap Papyrus and Sans, Blueberry actually sitting on Fell’s shoulders.  
~.~  
“Okay, no falling asleep you two!” Blueberry scolded as he and Fell continued walking up the path, Papyrus and Red sitting behind the counter of the sentry station. Blue laughed as Fell picked up a little speed, then looked down confused when he slowed to a stop. On the road in front of them was a little black skeleton, and Blue knew exactly who it was. “Fell, please put me down.” Fell complied, a little unsure in the situation. Blue walked carefully to the skeleton, his hands out in front of him. “Error, is that you?” Blue nearly stopped at the screech that came from Error’s mouth, who started to scooch away, dragging himself through the snow, not focusing on anything. Blue sighed. He had spent enough time around Error to know when he was blind. “It is okay, Error, its Blueberry. I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise.” 

“Y-yeah? W-well, what about your brother!” Blue gasped. He was no longer glitching. Shaking his head, deciding to think about it later, he tried once again to get close to the terrified and blind skeleton. Blueberry hadn’t noticed before, but Error was actually slightly smaller than himself.

“I won’t let him hurt you, I promise. There are others here, who can help me talk to him. You aren’t going to get hurt.” Blue finally got close enough that he could pull Error into a hug. Due to his fear of touch, Error went stiff, but allowed it. He only ever allowed Blueberry to do so, however.

“Blueberry?” Blue looked back at Fell, who was really confused at this point.

“This is Error. The one I told you kidnapped me, then brought me back?” Fell’s jaw tightened. But he saw how scared this Error was, and how much Blue cared about him. Nothing offensive had happened yet, so he kept back, on guard. Soon Error calmed down enough that his vision returned, and he stood up with Blue, who was holding his hand calmly. Looking up at Fell, Error tilted his head.

“Why is he here?” Blue smiled as his pupils turned to stars.

“He and Sans Abomination 13 are both here!” Fell growled at that. Blue looked up, realizing what he said. “Sorry, Fell, that’s how he knows who I’m talking about. Error, we call him Red.” Error nodded, looking warily at Fell. He wasn’t completely convinced he wasn’t going to be hurt, so he stayed close to Blueberry.

“Who is Sans Abomination 1, then?” Fell spat. Error grinned, jerking a thumb at his chest. “Of course.” Fell rolled his eyes. Blue let Error calm down a little more before suggesting that they go talk to Papyrus and Red. Error nearly went into a panic attack again, only calming down when Blue assured him that he wouldn’t let Papyrus hurt him. So they walked down the path, Error walking behind Fell and Blue, who walked beside each other. Keeping his eyes on the ground, Error prayed that Ink would get him out of this before he died. Soon they were back in front of the station, where both Red and Papyrus were napping.  
Blue cleared his throat, as did Fell. Red sat up instantly, rubbing his sockets. Papyrus just kind of lazily put his chin on the counter, looking at his brother.

“Sorry, bro, we were just resting our…” In an instant Papyrus was standing, orange magic flaring in his eye socket, the other completely blank. He ported directly in front of Blueberry, grabbing both him and Fell before blipping back to where Red was now standing, completely confused. He had never, ever seen Stretch this angry. Error simply stood still in fear, now alone, before a very pissed off Papyrus.

~.~

Error went blind again as he fell to the ground in pure fear, just at the thought of Papyrus looking at him. He heard Blueberry struggling with his brother, and saying something, along with Fell, but Papyrus wasn’t saying anything. Soon, however, he told Red to hold them both in place. Red did, much to the dismay of Blueberry, who was still struggling to stop Papyrus. Error heard the taller skeleton walk over to him, and it was all he could do to curl into the fetal position on the ground, trying to protect his ribs. With no magic, he had no way to defend himself from the coming pain. He heard Blueberry screaming at Red to let him go, then the blip of a teleportation. Papyrus had sent them home. Error was now alone. In the empty, chilled forest. With Papyrus. Shaking, his vision did not clear up in the slightest.

“Why’d you come back, huh? TO STEAL HIM AGAIN? TO HURT US BOTH? TO DESTROY OUR UNIVERSE? HUH? ANSWER ME!” Error simply curled tighter into himself, shaking uncontrollably, whimpering. He felt Papyrus lift him by the front of his jacket, and he went limp, closing his eyes.   
He still shook and whimpered, but did not dare fight back. It would be useless, and make his death all the slower. He could feel Papyrus glaring at him, seemingly deep into his soul. Then Error felt the distinct warmth of a blip and opened his eyes, although he still could not see. They were in what seemed to be a large, abandoned building, as Error could hear the echoes of Papyrus shoes on the ground. Where could they be? Why hadn’t Papyrus killed him yet? Soon his heard a door slam open, and felt himself be thrown on a metal table. No. Nononononononono… Error started screaming as Papyrus strapped him on the medical table, jerking with his arms and legs for some kind of escape. He went still when he felt a bony hand slap his face, and immediately started crying. His arms, legs, and torso now tightly secured, he felt Papyrus leave. 

Still sobbing after twenty minutes, his vision had started to clear up. He could tell he was in one of the lab rooms in the True Lab. Error shivered against the cool metal table, still sobbing quietly. After an hour had passed, he had finally stopped crying and had nearly drifted off, when he heard the blip. Shaking again, Error watched Papyrus, who was now changed into a t-shirt and lab coat, walk silently up to him. Error whimpered as Papyrus took his jaw and forced his face to look at him. Error tried to get his face away, terrified from the close contact.

“Haphephobia?” Error nodded meekly, looking away when Papyrus finally freed his chin. They stayed like that in silence, until Papyrus finally spoke up.

“Are you really Error? Error would have fought back by now. He would have more than likely killed Blue and Fell when he saw them. But I’ve not seen any strings so far. Or blasters. Or bones. In fact, you don’t have a trace of glitching on you.” Error shook even harder as the other spoke. He knew just how weak he was. 

“I am Error.” Papyrus laughed.

“Now I’m really not convinced. No glitchy voice… only one way to be able to tell now.” Error gasped as the other put a hand to his chest, raising slightly.

“Nonononono please, don’t, pleasepleasepleaseplease…” Error was crying again as Papyrus floated his soul out of his chest. Papyrus studied it for a moment, taking in the cracks and fissures, along with the stream of magic that went from the soul to the strange leather collar on Error’s throat. Humming that he was satisfied, papyrus put the soul back, much to Error’s relief. That relief was short-lived however, when he noticed that Papyrus had started to fiddle with the collar. “You won’t be able to take it off. Not unless he wants you to.” Error whispered. Papyrus looked down at him, curious.

“Who is he?”

“Ink Sans.” Error replied simply. Papyrus stared at him for a moment, before letting go of the collar.

“I’ll ask again then. Why are you here?” Error shuddered at the dark tone, his vision going away again.

“It wasn’t m-my ch-choice.” He breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down, but it wasn’t working.

“Whose choice was it?”

“I-i-Ink.” Error was trembling now, completely blind, in tears, and trying his hardest to breath but all that would come out of his mouth was little gasps.

“So you can’t use your magic?”

Now Error screamed. He was beyond the need for distance, even being ten foot from the homicidal skeleton beside him wouldn’t have been enough. He screamed and thrashed against his bonds, causing cracks to form in his arm bones. Now Papyrus was worried. He quickly undid the bonds and watched in horror as Error scrambled off the table and into the corner of the room, screaming and crying and trembling. Papyrus knew what this was. The poor thing was having a nervous breakdown. Being stripped of all your magic, then thrown into the one place you knew you were hated, then being kidnapped by someone you know wants to kill you…Papyrus shook his head. Error had brought Sans back, and he just couldn’t stay mad at someone who was breaking down so badly. Taking off his lab coat and throwing it into the corner of the room, he blipped, leaving Error alone. Soon Red and Blueberry returned, sent by Papyrus.

At this point Error had stopped screaming and was now just crying into his jacket, praying for a quick end, hoping he would just dust. Blueberry rushed over as soon as he saw the situation.

“Error, Error it’s me, its Blue, I’m here, you don’t have to be afraid anymore…” Blue held Error, who simply clung to Blue, crying into his shoulder. Red watched the entire scene, completely in shock at how hard this other version of himself had broken down. He also admired Blueberry, as he was in the thick of it, calming the little black skeleton down. Once the crying had stopped, Error let Blueberry pick him up, passing out in his arms. Another thing surprising about Blue; he was pretty strong. Smiling, they blipped.


	3. PLEASE STOP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, at this point I should probably feel bad...

Fresh and Ink watched with satisfaction at Error’s break down, and neither were surprised that Papyrus had let him go. All part of the plan.

“Ready to start the next part?” Ink asked. Fresh smiled.

“Now’s a good time as any, bruh.” 

~.~  
Error woke up on Blueberry’s bed, wrapped comfortably with plush blankets. Smiling at the kindness he had received, and in gratitude that Papyrus was not watching him while he slept, he closed his eyes to go back to sleep. 

“AAGGGGGHHH!” Error screamed as his body had a wave of pain shoot through it, from his neck to the tips of his feet. Ink was obviously messing with his magic, and unfortunately he knew exactly what he was doing. The pain became unbearable as his bones lengthened and cracked, his face becoming elongated, his teeth becoming sharp and jagged. He felt the beginnings of a tail crack its way from his tail bone as he settled on his hands and knees on the floor. His feet became a bit longer, as did his hands, with his fingers and toes becoming claws. 

Now completely changed, Error slumped on the floor, crying heavily, his throat completely raw from how much he had screamed. Soon the door burst open, a worried group of skeletons running in. All four of them stopped in their tracks as the sight of Error, completely in weapon form, was burned into their minds. A distinct cry came from Error, who was trying to get away, but, to Blue’s surprise, Fell and Red stepped forward, both grunting as they shifted and changed, each becoming a slightly different version of what Error was. Nuzzling him, gruffing to each other, they cuddled up next to him, trying to calm him down. Soon all three were asleep, the magic glowing in the dim room. Papyrus backed out of the room, Blue following him. It was almost morning, so he and Blue went downstairs quietly to make breakfast. 

“Papy, what was that? What did they turn into?” Blue was in complete shock, moving mechanically. Papyrus just shrugged.

“I have absolutely no idea.” But I plan on asking.  
~.~  
Soon after breakfast was done, Fell came back down stairs, looking a little drained. Sitting at the table, Blue set up for him, Fell, and Papyrus.

“What the hell.” Blue was still in shock, not even attempting to correct his brother. Fell sighed, then stood from the table to retrieve two large metal bowls. Putting a hefty amount of eggs and bacon in both, he turned back to the brothers.

“I’ll explain once I’ve fed them. Error hasn’t turned back, so Red is staying in form to comfort him.” With that he turned and left. Blue and Papyrus exchanged looks, but kept silent until Fell returned. Letting him eat a bit, Papyrus cleared his throat. Fell sighed, putting his fork down.

“You two know our history, as much of it is the same as your own. Well, apparently, there is one major difference. Our father, Gaster, experimented on Red, which you know. But he also made a second form for him, one more powerful and tamed. A perfect weapon.” Fell spat. Papyrus and Blue simultaneously cringed at the thought.

“The first time it happened, Sans was in so much pain that I begged Gaster to do the same to me so my brother wouldn’t have to go through it alone. He was more than happy to do so. We have both learned to control it so it is not as painful, and we no longer shift when in emotional distress. From what I can tell, Error has had no such training, and as such the best course of action is to keep him as comfortable as possible until it stops.” Blue was nearly in tears, remembering the horrid screams that had torn him out of sleep. He nodded and threw all the dishes in the sink, running to go upstairs and comfort his friend. Fell watched him leave, then turned to Papyrus.

“What did Error tell you when you were questioning him?” Papyrus looked like he might be sick, but he swallowed and answered.

“He said someone named InkSans had put that collar on him. It drains his magic so he can’t use it, other than to survive. He said it wasn’t his choice to come here, and that the collar wouldn’t come off unless Ink wanted it to.” Fell shook his head at the thought.

“I realize he is a destroyer of worlds, and has tried to kill you and Blue more than once. I don’t know about you, but I can’t find it in my soul to stay mad at him.” Fell said quietly. Papyrus nodded. The two stared down at their plates in silence. What were they going to do now?


	4. In which Error Realizes Ink is an Ass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Horrible title, I know. Error realized such the moment Ink sneaked up behind him! Anyways, sorry this took so long to get out, I was struggling a little deciding the order of certain things. Anyways, enjoy!

Blue opened the bedroom door quietly, so as not to wake up Error if he was sleeping. Red looked up as he entered and smiled, gesturing for Blue to sit on the floor on the other side of Error. Blue complied, moving the two now empty metal bowls carefully. Error was still in weapon form, but was sleeping heavily. Red had turned back into his regular form, but was sitting with his back against the bed, caressing Error’s head gently as he slept. Blue watched in silence for a while, before Red whispered.

“You know. I used to hate him. He’d always steal some treats and throw the trash back in my face when he was done with them. I think he has a thing for chocolate. That’s about the only things he’d steal.” Red spoke quietly, but stopped when Error murmured something intelligibly. Blue smiled at how gentle Red was being with the other skeleton. He must not hate him anymore.

“Yeah. We actually shared some of those. The shakes were pretty good.” Blue said, smirking and winking. Red sneered at him, leaning over and bopping him lightly on the head.

“Little klepto.” Red growled, but he was smiling. Blue giggled, putting his hand over his mouth. Then he looked back down at Error, and the smile vanished. “What’s wrong?” Blue sniffled, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

“I was his captive for so long, I know him almost as well as I know Papy. But, I’ve never seen him in this much pain…” Blue tried to sniff back the tears, his face soon a mess. Red frowned and stood up carefully, so as not to jostle Error, and sat back down next to Blue, holding him in his arms.

“It’s gonna be okay, Blueberry. If anyone can make him better, it’s you.” Blue smiled and hugged Red tightly, gasping when he felt a warm glow coming off Error. He watched in fascination as Error shifted back into his regular form, shaking from the cold. Red stood quickly and picked Error up, settling him back into bed and tucking the blanket around him gently. Blue smiled as Error mumbled, content in the warm. Red caressed Blue’s head, smiling and guiding him to the door. “Let’s let him sleep.”

Blue nodded, grabbing the bowls off the floor and going out the door, Red right behind him.

 

~.~

Error awoke with a jerk, his bones still aching from the massive amount of magic Ink had forced him to use. He remembered Fell and Red (still need to get used to calling them that…) had turned as well and had comforted him…Wait. They had comforted him? Why? He had never done anything but make their lives miserable. Maybe not to Fell, but he was constantly doing things to aggravate Sans Abomination 13…Red. Why would Red care? Rubbing his face and letting out a sigh, Error looked down and was extremely grateful his clothes hadn’t ripped apart. Maybe it had something to do with him not being completely tangible at times? Whatever the case, he was grateful. 

Error stood, stretching his spine until it popped and crackled satisfyingly, then grumbled under his breath as his bones ached from the movement. Still, he supposed he was probably not supposed to sleep all day. Not that he usually slept at all. Being in the Anti-Void had that effect on you. So, rubbing his arms a little, he opened the bedroom door and shut it behind him quietly. Peering silently over the banister, he could see the four other skeletons clustered together, obviously talking as quietly as possible. Were they talking about him? It wouldn’t surprise him. His anxiety returning tenfold, he was about to rush back into the bedroom when Blueberry looked up, his eyes twinkling into stars.

“Oh, Error! You’re awake!” Error paused half turn, cringing and pulling his hood up.

“Y-yeah, I a-am.”

“Come down here, then! We need to talk to you!” Error cringed again, but slowly made his way down the stairs, very aware of the four pairs of eyes that were on him. Blueberry patted the empty space between himself and Papyrus, and Error sat down gently, only settling on the edge of the couch. Fell and Red were standing in front of them, both of them staring at Error. Almost subconsciously Error wrapped his arms around his chest, closing his eyes. After a few minutes of silence, Blueberry made a noise, signaling his brother to talk.

“Well, we were talking, and we think it would be a good idea to run some tests, just to make sure you’re okay physically and that your soul isn’t in any danger from the sudden burst of magic you used last night.” Error started trembling at the mention of tests, but calmed a little when Blueberry rubbed his back gently.

“O-okay. W-when?”

“Here in a few minutes. Blue and Fell have to go to sentry duty, and Red will be helping me.” Now Error was shaking in earnest. The one person he knew hated him and the one person he had tormented for years wanted unimpeded access to his soul. Blueberry started to say something, but noticed Error's vision going out.

“They aren’t going to hurt you, Error. I promise. And if they even try to, I’ll give them a b a d t i m e. Cause you’re my brother too. Family doesn’t hurt family.” Everyone in the room but Error shivered as Sans gave his little speech, each of them shuddering when he used his “quiet voice”.

“We are only gonna make sure you’re alright, Error. That was a lot of magic after a little bit of not having near that much. We need to make sure it didn’t put a large strain on your soul.” Red tried. Error nodded and took deep breaths, his vision clearing up as he looked up at Red.

“Why do you care?” Error asked. There wasn’t any bite in the question, just an innocent confusion. Red smirked, but his eyes were kind.

“Because I remember how damn awful that felt the first time it happened, and hearing you scream like a little bitch reminded me that you can feel things too. Sometimes.” Red winked. Error groaned, then stood shakily.

“Let’s g-get this over with, then.”

“That’s the spirit, Error! When you come home tonight, I’ll have supper tacos ready!” Blue exclaimed, leaping up and hugging Error. Error stiffened only for a second before hugging him back. Papyrus stood up, taking a hold of Error’s shoulder and Red’s shoulder. 

“We’ll be back some time this afternoon. Probably right around supper time.” Papyrus said before blipping them. Fell and Blueberry sighed, before smiling to one another. Blueberry shrieked as Fell picked him up and settled him on his shoulders, making his way out the door and to their puzzles.


	5. Tests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

As soon as they were in full view of the Labs, Error began shaking again, the memories of his last time here with Papyrus flashing though his mind. He jerked a bit when he felt Red’s hand settle on his shoulder and turned to glare at him.

“Jeeze, man, no need ta get all vicious on me. Just figured you might prefer to not have another nervous breakdown.” Error looked away in shame, but didn’t say anything. Fortunately, he didn’t have to.

“He’s haphephobic. Doesn’t respond to well with physical contact.” Red stared at Error as they walked, the thought sinking in his mind.

“Oh. Sorry, ‘bout that, then…” Error just shrugged. Talking about how he felt during all this was like asking him to turn his bones white. Soon however, his mind was back on the terrifying topic at hand; they were at the entrance to the lab. Papyrus knocked loudly once, then was back in his slouched position as the door scraped open. Error looked up at this Universe’s Undyne, and while he had seen her before, it always surprised him just how shy she was. Much different from the other Undynes. It made him sick, but he figured going on another rant on how sick it all was would probably get him dusted, or worse.

“Hey, Dy. Need to use the Labs for a couple hours. And no, you can’t watch on the cameras.” Papyrus glared at her as he talked, making it clear if she did snoop he’d be paying her a visit later. Undyne nodded quickly before moving to let them in, giving Error a confused look, but deciding to keep her mouth shut. Papyrus lead the two Sans down the hall and through several doors, acting as though he knew the place like the back of his hand. Well, maybe he did, Error thought to himself as he stayed close behind Red. Red would glance back every few minutes to make sure he didn’t try to run off, but mostly kept his eyes on Papyrus so they wouldn’t get lost. Once they were to what looked like a more abandoned part of the old Labs, Papyrus turned a sharp corner and opened a lab door, revealing a dark room with several machines and a medical table. Flipping the lights on, he gestured with his head for Error to go ahead and sit down while he and Red booted up the dust covered machines.

Error tried not to swing his legs nervously, and settled for tapping the metal table with his fingers, recreating a certain song most Sans seemed to enjoy. Red came over and told him to remove his jacket, which Error did, though he was extremely uncomfortable to do so. He looked much smaller in stature without it. Red, sensing his discomfort, took off his own jacket, setting the both of them off to the side.

“Okay, Error, I’m going to attach this node to your soul. It isn’t anything obtrusive, so there won’t be any pain.” Error nodded and summoned his soul, gritting his teeth as he did so. The blue strings wrapped around his soul seemed tangled with the magic line that was attached to his collar, which he thumbed nervously as Papyrus attached a small plastic patch to the more uncovered part of his soul, then attached a wire to that that lead to a diagnostics machine that was situated next to the table. Papyrus then grabbed a clipboard and pen and handed them to Red, who proceeded to take readings. Papyrus snatched an old desk chair from the corner of the room, setting it right in front of Error, then sat, ignoring the plume of dust that kicked up.

“Alright, Error, I’m going to ask you some questions before we do anything else, and I need you to be honest with me, alright?” Error nodded. He didn’t want to know what Papyrus would do if he didn’t cooperate. He didn’t think Red would actually let him hurt him…but he couldn’t be too careful.

“Okay, I’ll start off easy. Where were you before you came here?”

“I was in the Anti-Void.”

“What were you doing?”

“Making sculptures with my strings.” Papyrus gave him a small look, but Error ignored it. Let him judge him. Like he cared.

“What happened before you were sent here? What did Ink do?” Error gulped, but closed his eyes and set himself. They deserved to know.

“Fresh came and distracted me so Ink could sneak up behind me. They are both versions of Sans Classic, although they are more like myself than normal Sans alternates. Ink caught me and put this damned collar around my neck, giving him control over my magic instantly. They told me they were going to punish me for destroying so many universes recently, and that they weren’t going to give up power over me any time soon. Then Fresh left and Ink threw me into Underswap.” Error had tears in his eyes as he remembered his terror, trembling slightly. He noticed Red was writing very quickly. His soul must have reacted. Papyrus was frowning, though Error couldn’t tell why. Was he angry at him? Did he think he was weak?

“Have you been destroying a lot recently?” Error scoffed.  
“No more than usual. They are just trying to torture me like I’ve tortured them…although I never… I would never…” Error stopped talking as he began to sob, the toll of his emotions causing him to, annoyingly, go blind. Papyrus stood and Error flinched back, feeling the air move around him.

“Alright, we’re done with the questions. I’ll let you calm down before we start any tests, okay?” Error just nodded, holding his chest tightly as he tried to stop crying. He felt Red come over and sit beside him, not touching, but close by so Error knew he was there for him. Error took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down, and sighed as his vision cleared. Papyrus was standing in front of him, a few tools set off to the side.

“I’m going to have to get pretty close in your space, alright?” Error nodded. He could stay calm, as long as there was no overly-long bouts of physical contact. Red got off the table and handed Papyrus a small light before moving to check Error’s phalanges and metacarpals. Papyrus had Error tilt his head back, dimming his eyelights so Papyrus could check the integrity of his inner skull. Papyrus looked satisfied and glanced briefly at Error’s nasal aperture before clinking the light on Error’s teeth. Error opened his mouth, refraining from summoning his tongues, as they hadn’t requested it and he was sure from Blueberry’s reaction, they’d probably freak out. Papyrus shone the light in the mouth, tapping teeth here and there while Red moved from his hands to his arm bones, checking his bone density. Papyrus nodded, satisfied, and allowed Error to close his mouth.

“His bone density is pretty good, if not on the light side. I’m assuming it’s because he’s not entirely tangible most of the time.” Red said while scribbling things down. Papyrus nodded before detaching the patch on Errors soul, letting it float over his hands gently. Error shivered as he felt Papyrus do a check on him, and felt relieved when his soul was pressed back into his sternum.

“Welp, looks like Ink doesn’t want you dead yet. You don’t have any physical deformations from the metamorphosis, and your magic levels are steady at the low baseline they set it at. Which makes me wonder; what else are they planning on doing?” Error chuckled, his eyelights disappearing.

“Whatever they think will hurt me the most.”


	6. Waterfall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its so short, I'll make up for it by posting another chapter tomorrow :) Enjoy!

When they ported back to the house, Fell and Blue were already home, both of them in the kitchen making supper. Blue, as usual, was chattering away, Fell nodding and smiling at him every few minutes. Error watched the interaction with confusion. This was not the same ruthless Papyrus he had seen torturing his older brother back in Underfell. Papyrus and Red joined them in the kitchen, leaving Error alone in the living room. Error knew he was more than likely not welcome at the dinner table, well, Blue would want him there. The others would not. So he debated heading upstairs.

Blue was so kind to him. He didn’t deserve any of it. He killed entire timelines for a job he gave himself, for fuck’s sake. Woah. Now that he thought about that…Error began to breathe heavily, his eyelights glitching in and out. He knew a panic attack when he felt one; this one was going to be a doozy. Where could he hide out? Where would he be safe until this blew over…He began trembling as he fought to stay logical, gripping the bottom of his jacket in his hands. The others would notice soon, he needed to go somewhere…Waterfall. Error opened his eyes and ran out the front door, unaware that he left it open in his haste.

 

~.~

Error found himself, curled into a ball on the river’s edge, his arms like vices around his legs. Wow. He had actually blacked out for that one.

“Are you awake yet?” Error scrambled to his feet, trying not to slip in the muddy earth. He made it to Waterfall at least. He was surrounded by Echo flowers, all whispering what he must have been screaming in his delirious state. Error flinched; some of them were pretty dark.

“Guess so.” Error turned, a little more than startled to see this universes Alphys sitting on the ground, her legs crossed. She seemed like a fierce warrior, one of her eyes blind with three claw marks through it. Error sat, a little overwhelmed. Why was she here?

“I thought you were Sans...er, Blue, for a minute. You certainly look like him. Except for all the…you know.” Error nodded, looking down at the ground. Alphys sighed, catching his attention as she looked him in the eyes.

“I don’t know how aware you were during your whole episode? And to be honest, I didn’t understand half of what you said. But I know how much Blue cares about others. You saying that there is no way he really cares; that everyone’s lying…” she took a deep breath, her face becoming stern.

“Blue is not a liar. He is many things. A liar is not one of them. If he says he cares about you, he does.” Error couldn’t look her in the face. He felt guilt gnawing at his soul as she spoke again.

“And if I hear one more word out of your mouth about how you are an abomination and are no better than dust, we are gonna have a few words, am I clear?” Error nodded quickly, but then looked at her, confused.

“Why d-do you c-care so m-much? I’m n-not your B-blue.” Alphys stared at him for a minute before she burst out laughing, a loud, gruff bark of laughter. Error found himself blushing. What did he say?

“Kid, I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Red when he said that. I care about everyone. Not just my Sans. Not just my Papyrus. Not just my Undyne. Everyone. Whether they are from this universe or not. I’m a Royal Guard, it’s in my business to care about you all.” She smiled kindly, tilting her head slightly. Error gaped at her, then felt his soul grow a little warm. She…she wasn’t lying. She cared. Blue cared. Error felt tears fall down his cheeks again as he ran into her outstretched arms, forgetting for the moment his fear. All he wanted was love. Alphys chuckled, picking him up.

“Let’s get you home, kid.”


	7. Baby Bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ye...I technically broke the fourth wall...what ya gonna do bout it? Enjoy!

Error was nearly asleep in Alphys arms, the most comfortable he had been in decades. Well…maybe decades. Time passes weird in the Anti-Void. Which was where Ink was, nearly asleep as he watched Error break down. He could feel all of Error’s emotions through the bracelet he wore, which left him almost as exhausted as Error. Still, this was kinda the point of all this.

“INK. We have ta move up our plan a little sooner. I got this chick breathin’ down my neck, practically on her knees beggin’ for us to get on with it already.” Ink looked up. Fresh was collapsed on the ground, arm over his face, grimacing.

“What’s her name?”

“Something with an R…Rad-becca or somethin’ like that…”

“Aww, you like the attention, don’t deny it.” Ink cooed. Fresh sat up, his eyes blazing purple.

“So what if I do? She’s a rad bro.” He smirked, crossing his arms. Ink laughed, sitting up straight.

“I don’t mind. Error’s had enough time to relax, I think.” Fresh laughed, nodding.

“Super fresh, brah.” They sat next to each other, watching as Alphys neared Snowdin, Error still asleep in her arms.

 

~.~

 

Error’s eyes opened a little as he heard yelling, feeling the low rumble that was Alphys talking. He turned slightly in her arms, flinching when he came face to face with a crying and furious Blueberry.

“ERROR! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN I WAS SO WORRIED I THOUGHT YOU HURT YOURSELF WE’VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU!” Error was a bit shell shocked as Blueberry fairly screamed in his face without taking a breath, right before bursting into tears and hugging him tightly. Alphys set him down and Blueberry took up the slack, picking Error up bridal style.

“Heh…sorry, B-blue. I was…I n-needed to g-get away for a while. I j-just went to W-waterfall. I’m fine.” Error mumbled. Blue seemed to accept this, thanking Alphys and carrying Error inside. Error felt his face heat up as he was instantly surrounded by skeletons, all demanding where he went and why he left and why he was all muddy. Error shrunk into Blue’s arms, a bit overwhelmed. Blue noticed this and waved the others off.

“We’ll all talk about it in the morning. Error’s going to bed.” Error felt him blush even harder. Such a mother-bird. He wasn’t a kid!

“B-blue, I c-can walk upst-stairs myself.” He tried to wriggle out of Blue’s grasp, only for Blue to hold him tighter.

“Nonsense. What kind of friend would I be if I let you walk around after having such a bad break down?” Error shuddered at the memory. He was glad he wasn’t awake for any of it. Blue soon had him upstairs and in bed, tucked in. Error tried not to look at the other skeleton in the face, his own cheek bones glowing brightly. Blue soon bid him good night and left. Error tried to settle into the bed, closing his eyes. 

“Urgh…” he felt a twinge of his magic, slightly unpleasant, but nothing like the last transformation. What he didn’t realize was that it was traveling, not only across his own body, but off his bed and under his door. Soon the sensation was gone and nothing was left but a slight tingling and a sudden tiredness that forced his eyes closed, and into a deep, dreamless sleep. He didn’t notice the now much bigger size of his jacket.

~.~

“Wake up!” Error sat up, squeaking. He opened his eyes and found everything to be really, really blurry. Sighing and grumbling about his poor eye sight, he reached into his coat pocket, pulling out his red glasses. They seemed a little off…Error watched in confusion as the pair of glasses nearly slipped off his face, hanging lopsided on his face.

“Oh! Hold on, we have some tape!” he heard Blueberry exclaim. Error squinted in the voice’s direction, but shrugged and held his glasses up on his face with his hands. Something was wrong…since when were his clothes this baggy? Sure he like them that way on purpose, but now they were almost five sizes too big. Now that he looked around, everything seemed bigger, taller…he got up, tripping on his shorts and falling way too far to the floor, groaning. He stood, looking at the bed that was now around the same height as he was…

“WHAT THE HELL?!?” Error shouted, dropping his glasses and falling on his butt. What on earth were Ink and Fresh DOING? He was surprised a little when his glasses were suddenly back on his face, Blueberry now MUCH bigger than him, taping the legs to the sides of his skull.

“Not a kid, huh Error?” Blue smiled as Error gawked at him, absolutely adorable as a frustrated baby bones.


	8. Error and Papyrus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh...sorry about another short chapter...*shrugs* Enjoy!

Error was humiliated. Here he was, trying to not trip and fall on his face, while Blueberry went on and on about how freakin’ cute he was. Error huffed, which only made Blue squee louder. Until there was an angry yell from downstairs. Gasping, Blue undressed Error quickly down to just his shirt, which was pretty much an oversized night gown now. Error tried to protest but found himself up in the air and in Blueberry’s arms as the now much larger skeleton zoomed out of them room and down the stairs. Error squeaked in fright, closing his eyes and clinging to Blueberry’s scarf with his tiny hands. Within a few seconds Error was plopped down in the couch, bouncing slightly as he tried to sit up. On the other side of the couch Red was in front of something wrapped in a bright orange hoody, much like Papyrus’. Error finally got to his knees on the couch and huffed at Blueberry, who was trying to talk Red out of attacking whatever was under the orange hoody.

“He fuckin’ bit me!” Red yelled, trying to claw his way out of Blueberry’s arms.

“He doesn’t know any better right now!” Blueberry tried to reason, dragging Red away from the couch.

“I do too! He was tryin’ ta poke mah mouth!” Error looked over in shock as a small head popped out from under the hood, the lisp obvious. Error was shocked. Before him was Papyrus, now also a baby bones. Error began laughing, holding his sides and falling over.

“Hey! Don’t laugh, this ith all your fault!” Papyrus squeaked, his face burning in embarrassment. Error just laughed harder. He never would have thought the calm and collected Papyrus would have a lisp this bad. It was honestly adorable. Fell, who was watching from the kitchen, seemed to think so as well, smirking as he cooked breakfast. Finally Error calmed down, getting back on his knees as he sat, looking down at his hands.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to change too…” Error felt emotional, more than normal. He wondered if it was a side effect from being a kid now. Papyrus’ face scrunched up, and he crawled awkwardly over to Error, his hoody trailing behind him. Error noticed with disgust that Papyrus was still taller than him, if only a little bit.

“Hey, ith okay. It’s not your fault.” Papyrus hugged him tightly, then sat back down, glaring at Fell who was laughing quietly as he turned his back to the two tiny skeletons. Blueberry, having successfully calmed Red down and convinced him to help Fell make breakfast, strode back over to his brother and Error.

“Well, since we don’t know how long this will last, I’m going to the dump to see if I can find any smaller clothes.” He honestly wouldn’t mind keeping them in the huge clothing, but knew they more than likely wouldn’t appreciate it. Papyrus just nodded, glaring down at his lap. Error was a little unsure about being home alone with the Fell brothers like this, but he would really like to move without tripping over himself. Blueberry told Fell and Red to make sure the two didn’t get into anything they shouldn’t which produced a heated glare from Papyrus and Error. Blue, unfazed, ran out the door, saying he would be back soon. Papyrus and Error gave each other a look of dread, before gulping and looking back towards the kitchen. There stood Fell and Red, arms crossed and eyes glowing, illuminating their vicious smirks.

“Well shit.” Papyrus mumbled.


	9. Punishment and Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they might be stuck like this for a while...Enjoy!

“Ah ah ah.” Red tutted, walking towards Papyrus quickly with a large smirk on his face. Papyrus squeaked and tried to squirm away, only for Red to scoop him up and take him in the kitchen. Error watched in fascination as Red smacked Papyrus’ hand, frowning, but amusement in his eyes.

“Baby bones don’t say bad words. You do it again and I’ll wash your mouth out. Understood?” Papyrus nodded quickly, rubbing his hand as tears dotted the bottom of his eyes. “Good boy. Bro, you mind getting the other one? It’s time for lunch.” Red sat Papyrus on the table, showing surprising care in swaddling Papyrus up so his hoody wasn’t draping over the edge of the table. Fell nodded, walking briskly over to Error, who started shaking at the sudden shadow over the couch.

“Oh, yeah, Bro? He’s afraid of physical touch. Be gentle.” Fell huffed.

“Of course, brother. I’d have to be gentle anyways, or I could easily break his tiny bones.” Error squeaked at the thought, thrashing as Fell leaned down and picked him up, holding him to his chest. Error started to cry, his childish emotions taking over as his fear piqued. He began hiccuping as Fell rocked him up and down gently, his hand rubbing him on the back soothingly. Once Error had calmed down enough, Fell brought him in the kitchen, setting him gently beside Papyrus, who was glaring at Red.

“Well? Don’t back talk and you won’t get in trouble!” Red was absolutely reveling in the new developments, practically giddy.

“I’m not an actual kid, asshole!” Papyrus huffed, scowling and pouting. Red frowned before grabbing Papyrus and holding him up in the air.

“I don’t care. Right now it’s in your best interests to not piss me off, because I’m taking care of you with as much care as I did when my brother was a kid. So, as long as you are too small to take care of yourself, you will stop with the cursing. Is that such a big thing to ask?” Papyrus stared at him for a moment before looking down, his fingers messing with the strings to his hoody.

“No…” Papyrus mumbled. Red smiled, and Error noticed it had less of an edge to it, more of a kind one. Red put Papyrus back on the table, then went to Error.

“Is your collar still on? Has it shrunk as well?” Error lifted the edge of his shirt and found, much to his disappointment, the damn collar was still as tight around his neck as ever. He looked up at Red and nodded. Red huffed annoyance, then went with Fell to finish up lunch spaghetti. Error watched him leave, then turned to Papyrus, who looked peeved.

“It’s just until we turn back. At least they aren’t torturing us or something.” Papyrus huffed, crossing his arms and pouting. Error giggled at the sight, causing Papyrus to blush furiously. 

“Stop laughin’ at me! I ain’t cute!” Papyrus yelled, fuming. Error just laughed harder, lying on his side, giggling harder than he had in years. Papyrus huffed loudly, turning away from Error, who was trying to catch his breath. Red came back with two bowls of fresh, steaming spaghetti, smiling at Error as Papyrus stared at the wall, blush still present on his face. Fell soon left to go take care of the puzzles he and Blueberry usually checked together, while Red sat on one of the kitchen chairs, making sure Error and Papyrus ate every noodle.

“How old was your brother when you had to take care of him?” Papyrus asked, swallowing a large bite of sauce and meat. Red stared at him for a minute before sighing and answering.

“About as old as you two look. We don’t really know how old we are.”

“You’re twenty six. Fell is twenty.” Error clasped his hand over his mouth. He wasn’t really supposed to tell the Sans things like that, but he supposed since Ink threw him here this timeline was screwed up enough as it could get. Red was staring at him, his mouth slightly open. Papyrus had stopped eating.

“What?”

“How old are you?” Error tilted his head.

“Um…after Sans classic was created…I think…I’m around three hundred? Not c-counting the r-resets. Of course, m-most of that t-time was spent in the A-anti-Void, so I d-don’t know how o-old I am based on your t-time m-measurements. Could be way m-more, could be w-way less.” He shrugged. He was older that all of the Sans, other than Ink, Fresh, and Classic. He continued eating, very well aware that Red and Papyrus were still staring at him. Papyrus cleared his throat.

“How old are me and my bro, then?” Error swallowed his noodles before answering, not looking up.

“Same as Red and Fell.” Papyrus nodded; that made sense. He remembered when he was little, how Blueberry would take care of him. He sighed, continuing to eat.

“So…do you still have a Papyrus, Error?” Error dropped his fork, clutching his shirt instantly. He began breathing heavily, his eyes clenched shut.

“I don’ wanna talk about it.” Red was quick to pick him up, rocking him back and forth. Error allowed it, crying gently into Red’s jacket. He felt an embrace from behind and turned his head, seeing that Papyrus had stood up and came over, hugging him tightly. Error sighed and relaxed into the embrace, content for the second time in his life to just be held.


	10. Happiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy da fluff!!!

Once they had finished their lunch Red washed them up, chuckling at just how messy an eater Papyrus was. Swaddling them both so their legs were tucked up comfortably, he carried them both, one in each arm, to the living room, setting them gently on the couch before running upstairs. Error stayed still for a moment before he leaned back, a little startled when something lumpy poked him in the back. Turning slightly to grab it he pulled a large stuffed cat from between the cushions, the coloring similar to his own. He giggled, ignoring Papyrus’ look of shock. Error hugged it tightly before staring in a vague direction, as much towards the Fresh Void as he could, whispering a thank you. At least one of the voices cared about his predicament.

“Ummm…” Papyrus mumbled. Error looked at him, his hands still tightly around the stuffed cat before smiling brightly, brighter than Papyrus had seen before.

“Here, it’s r-really s-soft. Don’t a-ask, I’m n-not sure I c-could explain it a-anyways.” Error shrugged, handing the error cat over to Papyrus, who giggled at the fluffy fur.

Red paused at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the cat for a minute before shaking his head. His entire life was full of strange shit, no reason to question things now. In his hands were a couple of blankets and an old book that looked like it had seen better days. Red laid the blankets on the couch before grabbing a chair from the kitchen, sitting and giving both Error and Papyrus a look. Papyrus huffed, but grabbed one of the blankets and curled up on one end of the couch, his knees up so Error had room. Error followed suit, cuddling under the large fleece cover with his cat, holding it in his arms. Red tucked them both a little before sitting back and opening the book. On the cover it said Fluffy Bunny, but as he began reading Error was surprised to hear Quantum Physics equations and linear timeline anomalies. Papyrus snickered, both him and Error realizing that Red must have slipped his Physics booklet inside the children’s book. The monotone of Red’s voice soon calmed them both, however, and Error felt a small smile on his face as he fell asleep.

~.~

Fell and Sans soon returned, Sans deciding to check in on the puzzles before coming home with the small clothing he found. Red was still sitting by the couch, staring happily at the two sleeping baby bones, who had curled up together without realizing it. Fell chuckled and hugged his brother from behind after kicking his boots off, Sans standing to their side.

“You really missed taking care of me, didn’t you?” Fell whispered, setting his chin on his brother’s skull. Red chuckled, holding his brother’s hands.

“Of course. That was my whole life for years, Pap. Blueberry over there knows what I mean.” Sans looked over at Red, simply gazing at him before nodding. He remembered having to take care of Papyrus when he was this tiny. Seeing him like this again…he understood exactly what Red meant.

“Only let them sleep about another hour. I’ll go start dinner.” Sans whispered, patting his little brother’s head before walking into the kitchen. Fell snickered before kissing Red on the top of his skull.

“You’d make a great dad, brother.” Red blushed, hiding his face in his hood, trying to block out Fell’s quiet laughter as the other joined Sans in the kitchen. Red glared towards his direction, but then turned again to watch Error and Papyrus, who were still sleeping peacefully, a small smile on both their faces. Red smiled gently. Yeah, maybe he would be a good dad.


	11. Short and Sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its so short...Enjoy!

Ink was sitting with Fresh, both of them staring in shock at the screen they had fixed on Error. This…was not supposed to happen. The magic used to change Error’s form was not meant to transfer over to Underswap Papyrus as well, which meant something had gone wrong.

“Um, bro? I’m pretty sure we broke somethin’…” Fresh mumbled, frowning. Ink was horrified, trying his hardest to use Error’s magic to change the two skeleton’s back to their normal size, only for it to buzz almost painfully in his and Fresh’s bracelets.

“I, uh…I think you may be right.” Ink was nearly in a panic now. They had all of Error’s magic to their disposal, but no longer had any control over what it did to Error. That…was a very large problem. But, until they could figure out how the magic got to Papyrus, they watched, seeing how the change effected the small “family”. Of course Red made a good father, he had after all taken care of Fell and himself when they were younger. What was a surprise was Error’s reaction to them mentioning his own Papyrus, and to when Red and Papyrus held him. Ink titled his head, intrigued. Error simply amazed him. Shaking his head, he stood. He needed to go talk with someone, someone who could help fix the mess they had created. Fresh watched him leave, staying where he was to watch whatever happened next. He sighed, taking off his glasses to rub his face. They really had broken things.


	12. Dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, its shorter than I'd like, but there is important plot stuffs...Enjoy!!!

Error woke up late in the afternoon the next day, more than a little surprised that Blue had let him sleep that long. But, when he left the bedroom and went into the rest of the house, he was alone.

“Blue? Red?” He called out, cringing at just how silent the house was. No one was in the house with him, which made everything more than a little creepy. Shuddering, he pulled his jacket tightly around himself and walked out the front door, determined to find out where the others were. Not that he cared, he told himself. No, he just wanted to make sure they weren’t plotting to hurt him. Why would they do that, though? He argued with himself. Red had seemed pretty nice since he had been there, and Fell had trusted him around Blueberry. It was only Papyrus that still didn’t like him, but they had seemed to be on better terms since they had changed into babybones…

Error looked down at himself. Nope, full size. Must have changed back in his sleep. As he walked, Error kept getting a feeling like someone was behind him, but every time he spun to look he was still alone. Eventually he ignored it, and that was when he came across the first pile of dust.

In town there was dust everywhere, scattered across the snow, in fresh piles, swiped on buildings. There had been a massacre and as Error went farther, the more scared he got. He soon passed the boundary into Waterfall after doubling back, and found nothing but dust. It was the same in Hotland, the doors to the Labs wrenched open. Error continued on until he reached the Judgement Hall, golden light shining down on four piles of dust, neatly placed with an article of clothing on each. Error fell to his knees, staring in shock at the red scarf, blue bandanna, black jacket, and orange hoody that lay before him.

“I doN’t kNow whAt yOu ThOughT wAS goInG tO HapPEn.” Error spun around and came face to face with himself, glitched like crazy and a maniacal smile on his face. This other him was hovering slightly, held up by blue strings, covered in dust. Error felt his throat constrict.

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!” Error screamed, falling to his knees. The Other Error laughed, a rough glitched out sound that grated on Error’s nerves.

“I oNLy dId wHAt yOu AlWAyS dO. DeSTroY tHE AbomINAtioNs. WhY dO yOu cArE sO mUcH?” Error felt tears stream down his face as he asked himself that very question. Why did it hurt him so badly to see the dust of the other skeletons? Why did he feel such sorrow that they were now dead? He was supposed to destroy all the abominations, kill every glitch, there should only be one timeline! But, the more he thought about it, the more his soul hurt. Whimpering, Error turned and grabbed up the final articles of his friends and clutched them close to his soul. He didn’t know when he had started to care. But he did. And this hurt more than anything he had ever e x p e r i e n c e d . . .

~.~

“Error wake up!” Error sat up in bed, his shirt large and baggy over his bones. He looked down and found that he was still a babybones. He looked up and saw Blueberry, who seemed worried. Error cried out and threw himself into Blue’s arms, crying loudly. Blueberry held him and shushed him gently, not entirely sure what to make of the change. Error just cried his soul out into Blue’s bandanna, so grateful it was only a dream, his soul pounding with the joy he felt. It was only a dream. And he’d make sure it stayed that way.


	13. Error Papyrus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ye...sorry this has taken so damn long to update guys, really I am. Shit happened....and by shit I mean a bunch more fics XD
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!!! And we are coming on the end!!!

Error hesitated to tell the others about the dream. He wasn’t entirely certain he even wanted to tell Blue, but the moment he let it slip that he had woken up because of a nightmare, Blue wouldn’t let him out of the room until he told him what it was about. Blue immediately comforted him, even though by that point Error had calmed down. He acted as though he found it annoying, but remembered his promise. That would never happen. It didn’t matter what they really thought of him; he wasn’t about to let them dust any time soon. Now if only he could get out of this damn collar. 

“So, Error. Blue said you had a bad night?” Error looked up to glare at Blue, though it was more of a pout than anything. Red gave him a look that demanded an answer, so Error just shrugged and continued eating his breakfast tacos. Papyrus, who was sitting next to him, turned to give him a look, but Error ignored it, determined to not let them know what he had dreamed about. It was bad enough Blue knew; he’d probably tell them all later. So he kept his mouth shut.

After breakfast Papyrus and Error were set up in the living room to spend the day with Red until Fell and Blue got back from sentry duty. Error would much rather have stayed home alone and avoid any further questioning he was certain he was going to be subjected to once Blue left. But he really didn’t have any says over it, since he was distinctly shorter than everyone else, even Papyrus. Red saw Blue and Fell to the door, before turning to look directly to Error. If Error wasn’t certain by this point that Red wouldn’t actually hurt him, he might have been a tad bit intimidated.

“Okay, kid. Yo are gonna tell me what happened last night that Blue was that upset about it.” Error tilted his head. Blue didn’t look any more upset than he would have, but Red just smirked. Error huffed and looked away, but Papyrus plopped next to him, turning him around so he had to face the others.

“C’mon. We just wanna know if you’re okay, Error.” Papyrus said calmly. Error scoffed, finally looking up to Papyrus with a glare on his face.

“Okay, we both know that’s a lie.” Error snapped. Papyrus glared back a moment, before looking away. Red stared at them both for a moment before huffing loudly and picking them both up. Error and Papyrus kicked around for a moment before Red growled, staying still until Red plopped them both down on the couch. Error held his void-given cat close to his chest, still refusing to look at the other two.

“Okay, Error, you wanna know how I really, honestly feel about you?” Error blinked as Papyrus spoke, huddling further into himself as he nodded. Papyrus took a deep breath, looking down at his hands once before continuing.

“I hated you for a long time. For killing my world, for taking my brother. For keeping him as long as you did. I still hated you when you brought him back and let our world reset. I couldn’t let go of that anger for a really long time. It wasn’t really until I saw you again that I even remembered just how much I hated you. And then you…you broke down. Went into a panic attack, screaming bloody murder…” Papyrus paused and Error looked up at him, surprised to find tears in the other’s sockets. Even Red looked surprised at the show of emotion.

“And then you were forced to use your magic, several times, for painful transformations…and I realized I can’t hate you. Not anymore. I’m still wary. But I don’t hate you, Error.” Papyrus met Error’s eyes and they both blinked as magic filled their respective sockets, blue for Error and orange for Papyrus. Red had to cover his own eyes as there was a bright flash of light, only to find a fully grown Papyrus and Error on the couch, both gasping for breath.

“Dude! Error, we changed back!” Papyrus sat up, forgetting the fact that he wasn’t wearing pants, and looked to Error. Error’s sockets were open, he was breathing, but there was no response. 

“Error? You okay, bro?” Red tried. Nothing. Now panicking, Papyrus stood up, blipping to his room and returning wearing pants as he knelt beside the unresponsive Sans on the couch. Red was beside him, trying to shake Error out of whatever state he was in. There was still no response.

“I’m AFraiD tHaT woN’t dO AnY GOoD.” Red and Papyrus spun around, the glitched voice shocking them both from their efforts to wake Error up. Standing in the living room was a Papyrus, but with black bones, yellow teeth, and purple sockets. Errors surrounded him, and it was obvious who this Papyrus was the brother of.

“He’S nOT gOInG tO wAkE uP.”


	14. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. This is the last chapter, peeps. Thanks for everyone who enjoyed it and stuck through till now. Time to move on to even more exciting adventures!
> 
> Enjoy!!!

“What the hell do you mean, he’s not going to wake up?!” Papyrus and Red were on their feet, standing between the glitched covered version of Papyrus and Error, who was still on the couch, unresponsive. Error Papyrus sighed, rubbing his nasal aperture for a moment before he took a seat in the air, as though there was a hidden ledge.

“I mEAn, hE’S nOt GOinG tO wAKe uP. i TOok COnTroL oF hiS ColLAr, bUT iNK iS FIgHtiNG mE. UNtiL I hAVe FUll cONtRol, SaNs wIlL sTAy aSLeeP.” Error Papyrus looked sorrowfully down at his brother. No one knew how much his Sans had truly suffered over the years. How Papyrus wished he could have been there to stave off the loneliness. But…even Error’s had their jobs.

Red was confused. He looked back to Error for a moment before glaring at his brother.

“So you’re saying we need to help you fight Ink? How the hell are we supposed to do that?” Error Papyrus tilted his head at Red and Papyrus for a moment, seemingly considering them. He then stood and moved them both to the side with magic, ignoring their cries of outrage as he picked up his brother. Error Papyrus looked down at his brother for a moment, affection plain in his features, before his face hardened and he turned to Papyrus, holding his arms out. Papyrus took Error in his arms and stared at Error for a moment before looking up, confused. Error Papyrus smiled sadly and walked to the front door.

“JuST tAKe CarE oF hIM foR mE.” Papyrus held Error Papyrus’ gaze, nodding slightly. Error Papyrus smiled a small, barely there smile and opened the door, a wall of white, glitched at the sides, replaced what should have been snow and trees. Error Papyrus walked through and the door shut behind him, the slam of wood on wood sounding strangely final as it echoed through the silent house. Papyrus stood, Error in his arms, staring at the door for a moment, before he turned to Red, eyelights gone from his sockets. Red had a similar look, staring at the door even as Papyrus turned, then directed his sight to Error.

“He’s not coming back. Is he.” Red murmured. Papyrus paused, then shook his head. Error had lost his brother before. He didn’t need to know he had lost him once again. Setting him on the couch, Papyrus ported a blanket down from upstairs, covering him up snugly before standing straight and looking at Red.

“Watch him.” And then he was gone.

~.~

Ink stormed around the Anti-Void, following disruptions and glitches in the system as he could pick up on them, anger growing as he went. This was not how the plan was supposed to go. Error was supposed to suffer, powerless and trapped in a place in which he would never truly be safe. But now Ink had no direct control on the collar, but neither did Error. Which meant a third party, who wasn’t him or Fresh, had taken his control. So now he was pissed.

Ink drew his paintbrush as a crackle sounded in the empty space around him. Someone was coming in the Anti-Void, and it wasn’t Fresh. He spun to the opening that tore through the endless white, and felt his jaw drop open as a Papyrus stepped through, on that was clearly not like any Papyrus he had seen before. This Papyrus was covered in glitches and errors, his scarf more of a shroud that he wore on his shoulders, a maniacal smile on his face.

“I thought you were dead!” Ink snarled, paint and magic at the ready. The crazed Papyrus tilted his head and laughed, closing the portal behind him with a snap of his fingers.

“YoU’vE bEEn hurting mY bROtHeR, InK.” Ink felt a shudder go through him at Papyrus’ judgmental stare, feeling his sins crawling up his back. He shook off the feeling with a snarl. Papyrus laughed, closing his eyes. When they opened one was darker than the deepest purple and the other was filled with an unholy red fire.

“ArE yOU ReAdy tO hAvE a bAd TiME?”

~.~

Red sat at Error’s side, watching over him and making sure nothing worsened in his state. He had just reached out to check Error’s HP when there was a loud static pop of a shortcut beside him. Red turned and found Papyrus, Blue, and Fell, Blue running forward quickly and taking Red’s spot as soon as he stood. Red gave Papyrus a look, which was returned with a slight wink.

“Figured my bro would want to know if something happened.” Red snorted and nodded, taking Fell by the hand to the kitchen to talk fully about what had happened. Papyrus had surely given the short version.

Papyrus watched them leave the room before turning to his brother, kneeling beside him after a moment and resting his chin on his shoulder.

“I told him I don’t hate him anymore.” Papyrus whispered simply. Blue turned and gave him a bright smile, hugging him tightly around the neck before turning back to Error.

“Do you think he’ll be okay, Papy?” Papyrus blinked at the small tone of sadness Blue had to his voice.

“Absolutely. I told you, his brother is gonna take care of it.” Papyrus gave Blue an assuring kiss to the skull, rubbing his shoulder for a moment before looking down to Error. Blue smiled and leaned into his brother, honestly glad that Papyrus didn’t hate Error anymore. Error had a high potential to be good, he just needed people to give him love and a family to support him.

Both of the brothers were drawn out of their thoughts as the collar around Error’s throat began to shine with blue and purple magic, the collar shaking for only a moment before it disappeared with a pop. Blue blinked with surprise, hand ghosting over where the band had been, when Error suddenly shot up on the couch, chest heaving and bones trembling. Papyrus could tell it was the sudden backlash of his magic returning to him that was causing the reaction, and pulled Blue away. Blue tried to fight, but stopped when Papyrus moved to Error.

Papyrus sat in front of Error, in full sight, and began to reach towards him. Error flinched, eyelights looking around in panic before they rested on Papyrus’ face. Papyrus smiled and gently reached for him, wrapping him up carefully in his arms and pulling him close, rocking him back and forth and humming lightly. Error clenched his sockets shut at the closeness, but after a moment calmed as his soul resonated with Papyrus’, their soul beats syncing to a soothing rhythm. Blue joined the hug after a moment, joined after by Red and, once Red had pulled him into it, Fell. Error, for once, relaxed into the hold, the calming energy and love surrounding him soothing away his fear and anxiety. 

He didn’t remember why he had called them all abominations, but he would never call them that again. They were his family, now. Family protected family. So Error sank deeper into their arms, soaking in the love he had wanted for so long. He finally had escaped the loneliness, the crippling insanity. And he was never going back.


End file.
